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Lee Ao starts uproar in Singapore on television show(China Post Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)Maverick independent lawmaker Lee Ao may not be the first in Taiwan to antagonize Singaporeans. But his remarks made in a Wednesday TV show were on a par with Chen Tang Sun, secretary-general to President Chen Shui-bian who called Singapore a mini-state the size of a piece of nose dirt while he was foreign minister. Known as a gadfly, Lee told the Phoenix audience Singaporeans are "stupid," albeit there are a few "outstanding people." Singaporeans are people of "poor seed," Lee pointed out. That meant an inferior race, though by far the greatest majority of people in Singapore are ethnically and culturally Han Chinese, just like in Taiwan. Coming on the heels of the "nose dirt" insult, Singaporeans are up in arms against Lee, who prides himself of being nominated for a Nobel prize in literature. Many Singaporeans call Lee a great "chauvinist." Others, however, describe the insult as "breaking the air," which means "nothing" and should be ignored as word of a mad dog. As a matter of fact, the Wednesday statement was an explanatory note for an earlier utterance on the Hong Kong TV station. Lee used the same words to describe the Singaporeans. To explain he is not a chauvinist, Lee pointed out Lee Kuan Yew is one of the "outstanding people." Another is the former Singaporean prime minister's son, Lee Hsien Loong. Still another is a songstress, Stefanie Sun. In the earlier remarks, Lee said the people of Hong Kong are "bad," the Chinese on the mainland of China are "unfathomable," but those Chinese in Taiwan are "lovable." Perhaps another explanation is necessary? "I think he will do so," Lee's aide said yesterday. He said Lee is likely to speak on the subject again at the Legislative Yuan today. If he did, Lee would do better than Chen Tang Sun and former President Lee Teng-hui to remedy the situation. Chen Tang Sun insulted his Singaporean counterpart on September 27, 2004, by charging him with "po lam-pa (stroke the balls of)" Beijing. What he meant is to "curry favor" with China. Abbreviated as "PL" in English, that phrase has since been in circulation in Taiwan both as a verb or a noun. But Chen himself did not apologize. He asked his Foreign Ministry spokesman to do so. More than nine years earlier, President Lee called Lee Kuan Yew a dictator. He did not apologize, either. On July 27, 1995, President Lee asked a Democratic Progressive Party National Assembly deputy, "Do you think who is more a dictator -- Lee Kuan Yew and me?" The answer was: "Both (of you) are." |